London 'eerie reminder' of 9/11

2005-07-08 14:21

London - Former New York mayor Rudolph Giuliani, who was metres away from one of the deadly explosions that struck London on Thursday, said the attacks were an "eerie reminder" of September. 11.

Giuliani said he was in a hotel near Liverpool Street Station when a bomb exploded on a train in a tunnel nearby.

"I could hear the sirens and then kept hearing reports of different bombing, in different parts of the city," he told Sky News television.

"As we were walking through and driving through the streets of the city, it was remarkable how the people of London responded calmly and bravely."

Giuliani, who was widely praised for his calm and resolute leadership after the 9/11 attacks, said New Yorkers would feel "tremendous empathy" with the people of London.

"I think every New Yorker would join me in saying we feel we very much understand what you are going through," he said.

Giuliani praised Londoners' "resolved and determined response" to the attacks.

"This is a difficult time, but the people of London have responded in the exactly right way, with bravery and by moving forward."

"In a strange way a lot of our response to September 11 was modeling ourselves as much as we could on the people of London during the WW2 and the incredible way they withstood the attacks during the Battle of Britain," he added.

Giuliani, who received an honorary knighthood from Queen Elizabeth II in recognition of his post-September 11 leadership, left his post as mayor in 2002.

- AP